Making candied fruits from summer’s bounty is not just a way to preserve vitamins for the winter; it’s also a fantastic option for decorating desserts. Strawberries, cranberries, cherries, or raspberries are best coated with a light frost, while grapes, apples, pears, peaches, bananas, lemons, oranges, or mandarins can be candied for storage. You’ll need a fine sieve or spoon, a brush, and toothpicks for this process. The ingredient quantities are based on one kilogram of fruit—feel free to adjust the amounts as needed.
Fruity Frost
Ingredients: berries or fruits – 1 kg; eggs – 2; granulated sugar or powdered sugar – 200 g.
Wash and dry the berries (or fruits). If they have stems, leave them on. If not, skewer the fruit with a toothpick, being careful not to bruise or damage it.
Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Discard the yolks, as they won’t be needed, and whisk the egg whites with a whisk or fork until they form a light foam.
Using a brush, apply a thin layer of egg white to the surface of the berries (or fruits) and let any excess drip off.
With a spoon or fine sieve (like a tea strainer), sprinkle each berry or fruit with granulated sugar or powdered sugar. Using powdered sugar will create a denser frost that lacks shine. For a more striking decorative effect, consider mixing the powdered sugar with granulated sugar.
Leave the sugared berries (or fruits) in a warm place for half an hour to dry. Once the “snow-covered” fruits have dried, you can use them to decorate desserts and serve them at the table.
Candied Fruits
Ingredients: fruits – 1 kg; sugar – 500 g; water for syrup – 360 ml (about 1.5 cups).
The main principle of making candied fruits is replacing the moisture in the fruits with sugar syrup, which requires water. To candy the washed fruits or berries, you should cook them in sugar syrup, similar to making jam: it’s even better to cook them a bit longer to achieve a thicker syrup.
Preparing the fruits involves cutting them into pieces and blanching them in boiling water (this step is optional but helps preserve color and partially breaks down the fibers).
First, prepare the syrup. Bring the water to a boil and add the sugar. Cook the syrup until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Next, cook the fruits in the syrup. Add the prepared fruits or berries to the hot syrup and simmer over low heat until they become translucent.
The next step is soaking. After cooking, let the fruits or berries sit in the syrup for two hours. Pour the soaked fruits along with the syrup into a sieve or colander. Allow the syrup to drain—what remains in the sieve will be semi-transparent cooked berries or fruit pieces.
Then comes drying. Arrange the syrup-soaked fruits in a single layer on the sieve and dry them in the oven at 40°C (104°F).
Coat the dried fruits with granulated sugar: shake them gently to cover the entire surface. Once again, dry the sugared fruits in the oven.
Store the finished candied fruits in glass jars and seal them with lids to keep moisture out. You can also store them in a sealed plastic bag.
Life Hack
In addition to sugar, you can add extra components to the syrup—spices or citric acid. Different fruits pair well together: apples with plums, cherries with pears, and so on. You can also use the leftover sugar and syrup from making the candied fruits to make compote or jam.
We also shared how to make pickled cherries.